Conductive connection through eyewear hinge

ABSTRACT

An eyewear device provides for routing a flexible conductive element or conductor through a hollow interior of a hinge mechanism that connects a temple of the eyewear device to its. The hinge mechanism comprises a pair of hinge pieces that defines a composite conduit through the hinge mechanism, conduit and hence the conductor routed through the passage being hidden or obscured from external view in any operational position of the hinge mechanism.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/146,954, filed on Sep. 28, 2018, which claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/579,629, filed on Oct. 31,2017, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

Eyewear devices typically have a lens-holding frame and a pair oftemples connected to the frame for supporting it on a user's face duringuse. To enable compact stowage of the eyewear device, the temples aretypically hingedly connected to the frame.

Electronics-enabled eyewear devices (e.g., so-called smart glasses)often have separate components housed in the frame and the temple.Conductive coupling (e.g., for transmitting electrical power, data, orheat) of such components separated by a hinge mechanism is problematicdue to requirements of aesthetics, durability, and reliability ofconnection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The appended drawings merely illustrate example embodiments of thepresent disclosure and cannot be considered as limiting its scope. Tofacilitate collation of numbered items in the description to thedrawings, the first digit of each numbered item corresponds to thefigure with respect to which that item is first described. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional view of an eyewear deviceaccording to one example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a hinge mechanism for an eyeweardevice according to an example embodiment, the hinge mechanismconnecting a temple of an eyewear device to its frame, a conductorextending between the frame and the temple via a hollow interior of thehinge mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a frame piece providingone of a pair of hinge pieces together forming the hinge mechanismaccording to the example embodiment of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a temple piece providingthe other one of the pair of hinge pieces together forming the hingemechanism according to the example embodiment of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a schematic three-dimensional view of the hinge mechanismaccording to the example embodiment of FIG. 2, the temple piece of thehinge mechanism being shown in broken lines to afford a view of a hiddenhinge cavity provided by the frame piece.

FIG. 6A is a schematic side view of the hinge mechanism according to theexample embodiment of FIG. 2, the hinge mechanism being disposed in awearable position and being viewed from a laterally inner side of thehinge mechanism.

FIG. 6B is a schematic side view of the hinge mechanism according to theexample embodiment of FIG. 2, the hinge mechanism being disposed in acollapsed position and being viewed from a laterally outer side of thehinge mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a hinge mechanism for aneyewear device according to another example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a frame piece providingone of a pair of hinge pieces together forming the hinge mechanismaccording to the example embodiment of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a hinge mechanismaccording to the example embodiment of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a schematic three-dimensional view of the hinge mechanismaccording to the example embodiment of FIG. 7, respective hinge piecesbeing shown in broken lines to expose co-axial cables routed through acomposite hollow interior of the hinge mechanism.

The headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes devices, systems, methods,techniques, instruction sequences, and computing machine programproducts that embody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In thefollowing description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding ofvarious embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. It will be evident,however, to those skilled in the art, that embodiments of the disclosedsubject matter may be practiced without these specific details. Ingeneral, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, andtechniques are not necessarily shown in detail.

One aspect of the disclosure provides for routing a flexible conductiveelement or conductor through a hollow interior of a hinge mechanism thatconnects a temple of an eyewear device to a frame of the eyewear device.Conductive coupling of respective components in the frame and the templevia the flexible conductor in some embodiments provides an electricalconnection for providing electrical power to some components integratedin the eyewear device. Instead, or in addition, the conductive couplingmay provide for a data connection. In a particular embodiment, theflexible conductor comprises a flexible printed circuit (FPC) having aflexible ribbon substrate carrying an integrated circuit thereon. Infurther embodiments, the conductive coupling via the conductor mayprovide a thermal connection. Such a thermal connection may in someembodiments comprise a flexible directional thermal conductor, such as agraphene sheet configured to conduct heat from heat-generatingcomponents in the frame to a heatsink in the temple.

The hinge mechanism in some embodiments comprises a pair of hinge piecesthat define a composite passage or conduit through the hinge mechanism.The hinge mechanism may be configured such that the passagetherethrough, and hence the conductor routed through the passage, ishidden or obscured from external view. In some embodiments, theconductor routed through the hinge mechanism is hidden from view both ina wearable position in which the corresponding temple is positioned forsupporting the frame during wearing of the eyewear device, and in acollapsed position in which the temple is folded substantially flatagainst the frame.

Specific example embodiments of an eyewear device and hinge mechanismscorresponding to this aspect of the disclosure will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1-10.

FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an electronics-enabled eyeweardevice 100 in the form of a pair of smart glasses. The eyewear device100 includes a body comprising a front piece or frame 106 and a pair oftemples 109 connected to the frame 106 for supporting the frame 106 inposition on a user's face when the eyewear device 100 is worn. The frame106 can be made from any suitable material such as plastics or metal,including any suitable shape memory alloy.

The eyewear device 100 has a pair of optical elements in the form of apair of lenses 112 held by corresponding optical element holders in theform of a pair of lens rims 115 forming part of the frame 106. The rims115 are connected by a bridge 118. In other embodiments, one or both ofthe optical elements can be a display (e.g., to provide a virtualreality display), a display assembly, or a lens and display combination(e.g., to provide augmented reality functionalities).

The frame 106 includes a pair of end pieces 121 defining lateral endportions of the frame 106. In this example, a variety of electronicscomponents are housed in one or both of the end pieces 121. A pushbutton 115 is provided on a top face of each of the end pieces 121, toallow user control of the operation of one or more functionalities ofthe electronic components provided by the eyewear device 100 byoperation of the button(s) 115. In some embodiments, the frame 106 isformed of a single piece of material, so as to have a unitary ormonolithic construction.

The temples 109 are movably coupled to the respective end pieces 121. Inthis example, the temples 109 are coupled to the frame 106 by respectivehinge mechanisms 163 so as to be hingedly movable between a wearableposition (as shown in FIG. 1) and a collapsed mode or position in whichthe temples 109 are pivoted towards the frame 106 to lie substantiallyflat against it. Each of the temples 109 includes a front portion thatis coupled to the frame 106 and a suitable rear portion for coupling tothe ear of the user.

The eyewear device 100 has onboard electronics 124 including a computingdevice, such as a computer, which can in different embodiments be of anysuitable type so as to be carried by the eyewear device body. In someembodiments, various components comprising the onboard electronics 124are at least partially housed in one or both of the temples 109. Asmentioned, various components of the onboard electronics 124 are insteador in addition housed within the lateral end pieces 121 of the frame106. The onboard electronics 124 includes one or more processors withmemory, wireless communication circuitry, and a power source (thisexample embodiment being a rechargeable battery, e.g. a lithium-ionbattery). The onboard electronics 124 comprises low-power, high-speedcircuitry, and, in some embodiments, a display processor. Variousembodiments may include these elements in different configurations orintegrated together in different ways. As mentioned, the onboardelectronics 124 includes one or more rechargeable batteries. In someembodiments, the battery is disposed in one of the temples 109.

The eyewear device 100 is camera-enabled, in this example comprising acamera 130 mounted in one of the end pieces 121 and facing forwards soas to be aligned more or less with the direction of view of a wearer ofthe eyewear device 100. The camera 130 is configured to capture digitalas well as digital video content. Operation of the camera 130 iscontrolled by a camera controller provided by the onboard electronics124, image data representative of images or video captured by the camera130 being temporarily stored on a memory forming part of the onboardelectronics 124. In some embodiments, the eyewear device 100 can have apair of cameras 130, e.g. housed by the respective end pieces 121.

The eyewear device 100 further includes one or more input and outputdevices permitting communication with and control of the camera 130. Inparticular, the eyewear device 100 include one or more input mechanismsfor enabling user control of one or more functions of the eyewear device100. In this embodiment, the input mechanism comprises the button 115.In the current example embodiment, a photo capture command can be issuedby a single, relatively short button press (e.g., shorter than asecond), while a video capture command can be issued by a press-and-holdaction. Additional input channels can in some embodiments provided,e.g., comprising a tap input channel for communicating commands to theeyewear device 100 through a predefined sequence of physical tapsrecognized by accelerometers connected to the onboard electronics 124.

As mentioned, one or more of the temples 109 may in differentembodiments include components that are conductively coupled tocooperating components in the frame 106. Such elements housed in one ormore of the temples 109 can include electronic, data processingcomponents, sensors, indicators, or the like, and/or battery components.In some embodiments, at least one of the temples 109 may include a heatsink element thermally coupled to one or more heat-generating componentsin the frame 106. In a particular example embodiment, a metal core wireof the temple 109 provides a heat sink that is connected by a thermallyconductive path to the heat-generating electronics in the frame 106.

Turning now to FIG. 2, therein is shown a hinge mechanism 163incorporated in an eyewear device such as the example smart glasses 100of FIG. 1, a conductor in the example form of a flexible printed circuit(FPC) 207 being routed through an isolated interior of the hingemechanism 163, the hollow interior of the hinge mechanism 163 beingisolated from the exterior of the hinge mechanism 163. In other exampleembodiments, the conductor routed through the hinge mechanism 163 can bea power cable, data cables (e.g. co-axial cables), and/or a flexiblethermal conductor such as a graphene sheet.

The hinge mechanism 163 comprises a pair of hinge pieces in the exampleform of a frame piece 208 and a temple piece 211. In this exampleembodiment, the frame piece 208 and the temple piece 211 are respectivemetal components of one-piece construction. In particular, the hingepieces are machined mild steel components. The frame piece 208 isfixedly mounted to the frame 106 of the eyewear device 100 (not shown inFIGS. 2-10), while the temple piece 211 is likewise fixedly mounted to acorresponding one of the temples 109 (for clarity of illustration alsonot shown in FIGS. 2-10). The hinge pieces 208, 211 are connectedtogether for pivoting relative to one another about a hinge axis 226,thereby achieving hinged displacement of the corresponding temple 109relative to the eyewear frame 106 about the hinge axis 226.

Turning briefly to FIG. 3, therein is shown a schematicthree-dimensional view of the frame piece 208 in isolation. The framepiece 208 includes a body portion 309 and, integrally connectedtherewith, a hinge formation in the form of a tubular central hingeknuckle 312. The body portion 309 has a mounting formation 323 forfixedly attaching the frame piece 208 to the corresponding end piece 121of the eyewear frame 106 (FIG. 1).

The central hinge knuckle 312 has a circular cylindrical bore 339co-axial with the hinge axis 226 and extending all the way through thehinge knuckle 312. As will be seen when the description returns to FIG.2, the hollow interior of the hinge knuckle 312 provided by its bore 339forms an internal hinge cavity for the hinge mechanism 163, throughwhich the conductor in the example form of the FPC 207 is routed. Thehinge knuckle 312 further includes an opening 349 at a side of the hingeknuckle 312 furthest from the body portion 309. Note that the opening349 extends transversely (relative to the hinge axis 226) through thecircular cylindrical wall of the hinge knuckle 312, connecting to thebore 339 of the central hinge knuckle 312.

Returning briefly to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the body portion 309of the frame piece 208 defines a passage 239 extending through the bodyportion 239 and into communication with the internal cavity of the hingemechanism 163 provided by hollow interior bore 339 of the hinge knuckle312. The passage 239 is open at both ends, at its frame end being incommunication with an interior cavity of the eyewear frame 106 (notshown in FIG. 2), and at its other end opening out transversely(relative to the hinge axis 226) into the internal hinge cavity providedby the bore 339 of the central hinge knuckle 312.

Similar to the frame piece 208, the temple piece 211 has a body portion244 with a mounting formation 263 fixedly attaching the temple piece 211to the corresponding temple 109. The body portion 244 of the templepiece 211 likewise defines a passage 259 therethrough for routing theFPC 207 to the interior of the temple 109. The passage 259 of the templepiece 211 is aligned with the passage 239 of the frame piece 309 whenthe hinge mechanism 163 is in the wearable position, as represented inFIG. 2. In the wearable position, the passage 259 of the temple piece211 is thus in communication with the hollow cylindrical interior 339 ofthe frame piece 309 via the opening 349 in the central hinge knuckle312, the passage 259 extending transversely to the hinge axis 226.

As can best be seen in FIG. 4, the temple piece 211 has a hingeformation in the form of a pair of end knuckles 402 with respectiveco-axial hinge sockets 410 defining the hinge axis 226. The temple piece211 is laterally asymmetrical, having a side wall 415 on its laterallyouter side 421 (i.e., that side of the hinge mechanism 163 that faceslaterally away from the user's temples when the eyewear device 100 isworn), covering the central hinge knuckle 312 of the frame piece 208from lateral view when the hinge mechanism 163 is in the wearableposition.

Returning again to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the temple piece 211 isconnected to the hinge piece 208 for relative pivoting about the hingeaxis 226 by a pair of hinge pins 272, each of which is located partiallyin one of the hinge sockets 410 and partially in a corresponding axialend of the cylindrical bore 339 of the frame piece 208. Axially innerends of the hinge pins 272 are co-axially press-fit into the axiallyopposite ends of the cylindrical bore 339, thus providing substantiallywatertight sealing of the bore 339. A bearing 279 on each of the hingepins 272 is engaged with the interior of the corresponding hinge socket410 to allow pivoting of the temple piece 211 relative to the framepiece 208 about the hinge axis 226.

Thus, the conductor in the example form of the FPC 207 extends betweenthe eyewear frame 106 and the corresponding temple 109 through acomposite conduit or passage defined by a hollow interior of the hingemechanism 163. In this example embodiment, the FPC 207 extends throughthe transverse passage 239 of the frame piece 208, through the centralcylindrical bore 339 of the central hinge knuckle 312, through theopening 349 in the side wall of the central hinge knuckle 312, andthrough the transverse passage 259 of the temple piece 211. Note thatthe FPC 207 extends centrally through the central hinge knuckle 312, sothat the FPC 207 (having some latitude or play within the bore 339) canat times intersect the hinge axis 226.

FIG. 6A shows the hinge mechanism 163 in the wearable position, seenfrom the laterally inner side 432 (see also FIG. 1) of the hingemechanism 163. As can be seen, the entirety of the composite conduitthrough the interior of the hinge mechanism 163 (here, the passages 259,239 and the bore 339), and consequently the FPC 207 routed therethrough,is wholly hidden from external view. Thus, the conductor extendingthrough the hinge mechanism 163 is obscured from view by the hingemechanism components. Further, the hinge cavity is here substantiallywater-tight, due at least in part to sealing connection of the hingepins 272 to the central hinge knuckle 312. The same considerations applyto the hinge mechanism 163 in the closed position when seen from theopposite, laterally outer side 421. In fact, the hinge knuckles 312, 402are themselves obscured from the outer side 421 by the side wall 415 ofthe temple piece 211, when the hinge mechanism 163 (and hence thecorresponding temple 109) is in the wearable position.

FIG. 6B shows the hinge mechanism 163 in the collapsed position, butviewed from the opposite lateral side from that shown in FIG. 6A, i.e.being viewed from the laterally outer side 421 of the eyewear device100. Again, the entirety of the composite conduit through the interiorof the hinge mechanism 163, and therefore also the FPC 207, is obscuredfrom external view. In particular, note that the opening 349 in thecentral hinge knuckle 312 is covered by the sidewall 415 of the templepiece 211.

Thus, the hinge mechanism 163 provides a hollow interior that serves asa conduit for the FPC 207, such that the FPC 207 is obscured fromexternal view in all of the operable positions of the hinge mechanism163. A benefit of the described hinge mechanism 163 is that it providesfor space saving in an electronics-enabled eyewear device, in whichavailable component space is at a premium. In this example embodiment,routing of a conductor in the example form of the FPC 207 through thehinge mechanism 163 allows for construction of a low-profile hingemechanism in which the lengthwise direction of the corresponding temple109 is substantially in line with the hinge axis 226.

The exemplified hinge mechanism 163 also has the benefit of providing anaesthetically pleasing solution to the problem of providing a conductiveconnection between components opposite sides of the hinge mechanism 163.To the user, there is only a hinge as with the found in traditionalglasses. Connection of the hinge pins 272 from the outside preventtampering and the loosening with cycling.

Note also that the hinge axis 226 intersects of the internal hingecavity 339 through which the FPC 207 extends, which provides a number ofbenefits. One of these is that the distance along the conductor betweenthe ends of the conductor (being fixed to the respective components inthe frame 106 and the temple 109) remains substantially constant duringhinge displacement of the temple 109 relative to the frame 106. Toillustrate this benefit, consider an alternative example embodiment inwhich a conductor (such as the FPC 207 in the described example) isrouted through an internal hinge cavity, but around a single hinge pinthat extends along the hinge axis 226. The flexible conductor would thenbe placed under stress or need to take up slack responsive to hingedmovement of the temple 109, as the distance along the conductor aroundthe outside or the inside of the hinge pin changes during hinging. Suchdifficulties are apply even more so in eyewear devices in which aflexible conductor is routed between the temple and frame outside of thehinge mechanism.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate another example embodiment of a hinge mechanism700 according to the disclosure. The hinge mechanism 700 employssubstantially similar techniques to that described with reference tohinge mechanism 163 in FIGS. 2-6, a major distinction being that one ofthe hinge pieces defines a pair of passages through its body portion,routing a respective pair of cables into a single, common passage in theother hinge piece. These distinctions will be evident from thedescription that follows.

Turning first to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the hinge formations ofthe hinge mechanism 700 comprises five intermeshed hinge knucklesconsisting of a central knuckle 714 flanked by a co-axial pair ofintermediate knuckles 707, which are in turn flanked by a co-axial pairof end knuckles 721. In this example embodiment, the pair ofintermediate knuckles 707 are provided by the hinge formation of theframe piece 208, while the central knuckle 714 and the pair of endknuckles 721 are provided by the hinge formation of the temple piece211.

In FIG. 8, which shows the frame piece 208 in isolation, it can be seenthat the body portion 309 of the frame piece 208 defines a pair ofpassages 728 for housing respective cables. Each of the passages 728lead into a hollow interior of a corresponding one of the intermediateknuckles 707, which defines a channel 735 opening out axially towardsthe gap between the intermediate knuckles 707 in which the centralknuckle 714 is to be received. The axially outer side of eachintermediate knuckle 707 defines a hinge-pin hole 742 for receiving arespective hinge pin 272.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional side view of the hinge mechanism 700,with a pair of co-axial cables 816 routed therethrough. As can be seenin FIG. 9, the central knuckle 714 of the temple piece 211 defines ahollow hinge loop which is axially open to both sides thereof. Theinterior of the central knuckle 714 thus defines a loop opening 808 thatis connected to a passage 259 extending through the body portion 244 ofthe temple piece 211.

Similar to the hinge mechanism 163, the hinge pieces 208, 211 of thehinge mechanism 700 are connected together by a pair of hinge pins 272.The hinge pins 272 are received in respective hinge sockets 410 definedby the end knuckles 721 of the temple piece 211. Stepped down axiallyinner ends of the hinge pins 272 are press fit into the respectivehinge-pin holes 742 of the intermediate knuckles 707.

When the hinge pieces 208, 211 are thus connected together, the channels735 of the respective intermediate knuckles open out axially into theloop opening 808 of the central knuckle 714. In this manner, therespective passages 728 of the frame piece 208 are placed incommunication with the passage 259 of the temple piece 211, via thechannels 735 and the opening 808. Note that the internal hinge cavity ofthe hinge mechanism 700 is thus in this example embodiment provided atleast in part by the loop opening 808 of the central knuckle 714, theinternal hinge cavity again intersecting the hinge axis 226.

In this example embodiment, the composite conduit thus provided throughthe hinge mechanism 700 is employed to route a pair of co-axial cables816 through the hinge mechanism 700, conductively connecting respectivecomponents in the frame 106 and the temple 109. It is again emphasizedthat the passages 728 of the frame piece 208 are in communication with asealed interior of a respective end piece 121 of the frame 106, and thatthe passage 259 of the temple piece 211 is likewise in communicationwith a sealed interior of a respective temple 109. The composite conduitof the hinge mechanism 163 thus places the interiors of the frame 106and the temple 109 in communication, with any exposure to the exteriorof the hinge mechanism 163. Each of the cables 816 extend from the frame106 along a respective one of the passages home 503 of the frame piece,extending into a respective one of the open channels 735 of theintermediate knuckles 707. From these channels 735, each cable 816enters more or less axially into the loop opening 808, from where bothcables 816 together extend into and through common passage 259 throughthe temple piece 211.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the disposition of the cables 816 when thehinge mechanism 163 is hingedly disclosed from the wearable positionshown in FIG. 9 into the collapsed condition. It will be seen that thecable 816 flexes or bends more or less about the hinge axis 226, thusachieving the earlier-described benefits associated with routing aflexible conductor centrally through the hinge mechanism 700. Note alsothat multiple cables can be routed through each path.

It will be noted from FIG. 7 and FIG. 10 that none of the cavities ofthe composite conduit through the hinge mechanism 700 is visible fromthe exterior in any one of the operational positions of the hingemechanism 700. In particular, the passages 728 and 259 are obscured bythe frame 106 and the temple 109 respectively. The open channels 735 ofthe intermediate knuckles 707 are obscured by the loop of the centralknuckle 714 receive between them. Likewise, the loop opening 808 of thecentral knuckle 714 is obscured by the pair of intermediate knuckles 707flanking it. Thus, the hinge mechanism 700 has a traditional hingeappearance, concealing electrical connections routed therethrough.

Language

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Although an overview of the disclosed matter has been described withreference to specific example embodiments, various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. Such embodimentsof the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individuallyor collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience andwithout intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application toany single disclosure or inventive concept if more than one is, in fact,disclosed.

The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed.Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive orexclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided forresources, operations, or structures described herein as a singleinstance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources,operations, modules, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary,and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specificillustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality areenvisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presentedas separate resources in the example configurations may be implementedas a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures andfunctionality presented as a single resource may be implemented asseparate resources. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of thepresent disclosure as represented by the appended claims. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

1. (canceled)
 2. An eyewear device comprising: a frame holding one ormore optical elements; a temple coupled to the frame for supporting theframe in position during wearing of the eyewear device; a hingemechanism that hingedly couples the temple to the frame, permittingpivotal movement of the temple about a hinge axis to dispose the templebetween a wearable position and a collapsed position, the hingemechanism comprising: a plurality of hinge knuckles that arerespectively connected to one of the frame and the temple and that areintermeshed, together to define a hinge cavity that is hidden from viewand that is coincident with the hinge axis, the plurality of hingeknuckles including a pair of end knuckles located at opposite axial endsof the hinge cavity, each end knuckle defining a respectivesubstantially tubular bore co-axial with the hinge cavity; and a pair ofhinge pins pivotally connecting together the intermeshed plurality ofhinge knuckles, the pair of hinge pins being located in the pair of endknuckles such as to close off the opposite axial ends of the hingecavity; and a conductor extending between the frame and the temple viathe hinge mechanism to provide a conductive coupling between componentsincorporated in the frame and the temple respectively, the conductorpassing through the hinge cavity.
 3. The eyewear device of claim 2,wherein the hinge mechanism is provided by a pair of hinge piecesincorporated in the frame and the temple respectively, each hinge piececomprising: a body portion attached to a corresponding one of the frameand the temple; and one or more of the plurality of hinge knucklesattached to the body portion, wherein each body portion defines apassage that extends therethrough, each passage being in communicationwith the hinge cavity, and wherein the conductor extends sequentiallythrough the passage of one of the hinge pieces, through the hingecavity, and through the passage of the other one of the hinge pieces. 4.The eyewear device of claim 3, wherein the hinge cavity and the passagesof the pair of hinge pieces are obscured from external view both in thewearable position and in the collapsed position.
 5. The eyewear deviceof claim 3, wherein each hinge piece is a metal component of one-piececonstruction.
 6. The eyewear device of claim 3, wherein the conductorintersects the hinge axis within the hinge cavity.
 7. The eyewear deviceof claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of hinge knuckles has asubstantially circular-cylindrical interior that at least partiallydefines the hinge cavity and that is substantially co-axial with thehinge axis.
 8. The eyewear device of claim 3, wherein the passagesdefined by the body portions of the respective hinge pieces open outtransversely into the hinge cavity, so that the conductor passestransversely through the hinge cavity.
 9. The eyewear device of claim 3,wherein at least one of the passages through the body portions opensaxially into the hinge cavity, such that the conductor extends:transversely through a first one of the hinge pieces; axially into thehinge cavity; and from there transversely through a second one of thehinge pieces.
 10. The eyewear device of claim 3, wherein a first one ofthe pair of hinge pieces defines a pair of passages extending separatelythrough its body portion and opening separately into the hinge cavity.11. The eyewear device of claim 10, wherein the first hinge pieceprovides a pair of tubular hinge knuckles co-axially flanking a centralhinge knuckle provided by the hinge formation of the other, second hingepiece, wherein the hinge cavity is defined by a hollow interior of thecentral hinge knuckle of the second hinge piece, the second hinge piecehaving a single passage extending through its body portion into theinterior of the central hinge knuckle, and wherein the pair of passagesthrough the body portion of the first hinge piece extend into respectivehollow interiors of the pair of hinge knuckles of the first hinge piece,the interiors of the pair of hinge knuckles being in communication withthe hinge cavity of the central hinge knuckle at opposite axial endsthereof.
 12. The eyewear device of claim 2, wherein the conductor is anelectrical conductor an onboard battery of the eyewear device to poweredelectronic components across the hinge mechanism.
 13. The eyewear deviceof claim 2, wherein the conductor establishes a data connection acrossthe hinge mechanism between electronic components in the frame and inthe temple respectively.
 14. The eyewear device of claim 2, wherein theconductor is a thermal conductor configured to conduct heat across thehinge mechanism from a heat generating component to a heatsink element.15. A hinge mechanism comprising: a pair of hinge pieces, each of whichcomprises: one or more hinge knuckles that are intermeshed with andhingedly engaged with one or more complementary hinge knuckles of theother hinge piece, the engaged hinge knuckles together defining aninternal hinge cavity that is hidden from external view and that issubstantially co-axial with a hinge axis of the hinge mechanism, theintermeshed hinge knuckles including a pair of end knuckles located atopposite axial ends of the hinge cavity; and a body portion fixedlyattached to the corresponding one or more hinge knuckles, the bodyportion defining a passage that extends therethrough and that is incommunication with the hinge cavity; a pair of hinge pins pivotallyconnecting together the intermeshed hinge knuckles, the pair of hingepins being located in the pair of end knuckles such as to close off theopposite axial ends of the hinge cavity; and a conductor that extendsthrough the passages of the respective hinge pieces and through thehinge cavity, such that the conductor is obscured from external view atthe engaged hinge knuckles.
 16. The hinge mechanism of claim 15, whereinthe pair of hinge pieces are hingedly disposable between an open and aclosed position, the hinge cavity and the passages of the pair of hingepieces being obscured from external view both in the open position andthe closed position.
 17. The hinge mechanism of claim 15, wherein eachhinge piece is a metal component of one-piece construction.
 18. Thehinge mechanism of claim 15, wherein the conductor intersects the hingeaxis within the hinge cavity.
 19. The hinge mechanism of claim 18,wherein at least one of the hinge knuckles has a substantiallycylindrical interior that at least partially defines the hinge cavityand that is substantially co-axial with the hinge axis.
 20. The hingemechanism of claim 15, wherein the conductor is an electrical conductor.